May 20, 2010

Lemon Glazed Blackberry Cake

Do you ever go to the grocery store and randomly pick up something that looks so inviting or is such a good deal that you can’t pass it up, even though you don’t know what you will actually do with it? Well, that’s how I ended up with 2 cartons of giant blackberries this week. They were beautiful and they were buy one, get one free. How could you not buy those?

But then, if course, I had to find something to make with them so they wouldn’t all go to waste (although they were pretty perfect in a bowl with a little sugar sprinkled on top, too). I already posted a blackberry cobbler a while ago, so that was out. After searching around for a while, this recipe jumped out me, and for good reason! It’s extremely simple and produces a very moist and delicious cake. And since I really like the combination of lemon and blackberry, I added a lemon glaze on top (the same one from these lemon cakes). I think the glaze perfectly balances out the tartness of the blackberries as well as the cinnamon and other spices in the cake. Besides, it’s a cake and cakes are supposed to be topped with some kind of sugary concoction, right?

Here’s what I’ve been wondering, though. Is this really a cake? It reminds me more of my mom’s recipe for Applesauce Bread, especially since it has cinnamon and other spices in it. What’s the difference between a quick bread and a cake anyway? All I can think is most quick bread/muffin recipes I’ve made don’t have eggs and most cakes do. So if that’s the difference, then this is a quick bread. But who cares? Maybe it’s all just semantics. Whatever you want to call it, it’s really good and it would work just a well for breakfast as it does for dessert (believe me, I’ve been eating it for both for the past week).

The original recipe made wayyy too much, at least for a household of two (or even four), and I didn’t realize that until I had already started, so instead of making three (8 in) cakes, I wound up making one 9 in cake and some cupcakes (which I put in the freezer for later). I’ve halved the recipe so that it’s suited for either, but you can double it again if you do want to make 3 cakes worth. It will all get eaten, I promise you!

1 cupbuttermilk (or add a tablespoon of lemon juice or vinegar to a cup of regular milk and let sit for about 10 minutes)

1 tsp.baking soda

2 cupsflour

1 tsp.cinnamon

1/8 tsp.nutmeg

1/8 tsp.ground cloves

1/4 cupbutter, softened

1 cupsugar

2 cups fresh or thawed, frozen blackberries, cut in half if large (I think the more, the better, so if you have more left, use them)

Lemon Glaze

2 cupspowdered sugar

3-4 tbsp.lemon juice

Process

Preheat oven to 350 degrees (F). Grease and flour a 9 in round cake pan or cupcake tins (or use cupcake liners – this should make about 12-15 cupcakes).

Dissolve the baking soda in the buttermilk. Set aside.

Combine flour, cinnamon, nutmeg, and cloves in a medium bowl and set aside.

In a large mixing bowl, cream together butter and sugar until light.

Add the flour and buttermilk mixtures alternately in two additions.

Toss the blackberries with the remaining 1/2 cup of flour to coat. Mix in the blackberries into the batter and stir until evenly distributed (the batter should start looking purple, but you still want chunks of blackberries in there). Pour into the prepared pan (for cupcakes fill about 3/4 full).

Bake for 25-35 minutes (15-20 for cupcakes) or until a toothpick inserted near the center of the cakes comes out clean. Cool completely.

In a small bowl, stir sugar and lemon juice until smooth. Start with 3 tbsp. of lemon juice, but it’ll probably still be too thick so add a little more until it’s easier to pour. Pour on glaze and spread around (or not, I think it looks pretty letting the glaze drip down the sides).

Wrap well in plastic wrap or store in an air-tight container to keep it moist. This cake also freezes well.